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Can Biden forge a new social contract for the climate?

(Climate Home News, 22 Apr 2021) The stage is set this week for Joe Biden’s climate summit, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. So how can this meeting achieve more than just warm words?

After decades of summits and conferences, I now know: don’t just focus on the environment – bring people in as well. Tackling inequality is our best and only chance to tackle climate change. 

All big climate summits claim to be make-or-break moments, but Biden’s get-together has a stronger claim than most. It is the first major diplomatic test of the new president, a high-stakes symbol of renewed US commitment to the climate fight after four years of denial and regression, and a galvanising moment on the road to Cop26 in Glasgow. 

The stakes are high, and the roadblocks to success are even higher: a global economy wrecked by Covid-19, diplomatic distrust on all sides, a razor-thin majority in Congress. Decades of campaigning have so far failed to create large majorities of voters demanding aggressive action on climate injustice. Why is this? Simple: politicians – even the well-meaning, environmentally ambitious ones – have forgotten about ordinary people.

The benefits of environmental action feel vague and located in some far-off, badly explained future. But the costs are much closer to home: higher taxes, higher prices, higher bills, more restrictions, more red tape. 

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Climate Home News, 22 Apr 2021: Can Biden forge a new social contract for the climate?